The secret behind the Case of BALTIMORE Police Department

The secret behind the Case of BALTIMORE Police Department

During the years 1966–82, law enforcement in Baltimore, Maryland, was dominated by Police Commissioner Donald Pomerleau, a die-hard enemy of perceived “subversives” who also used the police department to punish his personal critics. Pomerleau launched the Baltimore Police Department’s (BPD) Red Squad—also known as the Inspectional Services Division (ISD)—on July 1, 1966, with officers trained by the FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI) and U.S. Army Intelligence to ferret out “enemies” of the state. ISD’s chief, Maj. Maurice DuBois, was himself an FBI agent for 20 years before he joined the BPD. Under such leadership BPD engaged in a wide range of illegal surveillance and harassment directed at black or “leftist” organizations. A primary target was the BLACK PANTHER PARTY (BPP), earmarked for destruction by the FBI and the BPD alike.

Pomerleau and DuBois saw their chance to crush the local BPP in early 1970 when a human skeleton was unearthed in Baltimore. The city’s medical examiner reported that the deceased was a white male, 25–30 years old, who died of a drug over-dose. Unsatisfied with that bland result, BPD shipped the remains to the FBI crime lab, where technicians “positively” identified the corpse as 20-year-old Eugene Anderson, a black BPP member allegedly killed by a close-range shotgun blast.

In April 1970, 17 Panthers and white attorney Arthur Turco were charged with murdering Anderson, allegedly because they thought he was a police informer. The indictment followed a meeting between Baltimore’s district attorney and U.S.

Attorney General John Mitchell, who was subsequently jailed for his role in the WATERGATE conspiracy

The prosecution’s three witnesses, all paid BPD/FBI informers, were granted immunity from prosecution and placed on salary for the duration of the trial, but they failed to earn their money.

“Key witness” Mahoney Kebe was so confused at trial that the judge ejected him from court and ordered his testimony stricken from the record. A new district attorney ultimately dismissed all charges against the defendants, while admitting that his predecessor was guilty of “improper prosecution practices.” The Maryland state senate investigated complaints of BPD’s abusive conduct in 1975, and its December report sustained most of the charges made by various harassment victims.

Three years later, state lawmakers passed new legislation that restricted police surveillance and granted citizens access to information contained in their files. With his spying activities curtailed, Commissioner Pomerleau resigned in 1982, two years before the expiration of his term in office.